2017 Kopchick Fellowship Awards Ceremony
Fourteen Ohio University students and faculty members received funding for their health and medical research from the John J. Kopchick Awards.
The program will provide a total of $100,213 in grants and fellowships during its 2017-18 cycle to advance research on topics such as drug delivery, fatty liver disease, breast cancer and growth hormone. The recipients were recognized during a ceremony Nov. 11 in Nelson Commons.
“The funded projects demonstrate how our undergraduate and graduate students and faculty members are tackling real-world biomedical issues and translating their research for the benefit of society,” said Joseph Shields, vice president for research and creative activity and dean of the Graduate College.
The John J. Kopchick Molecular and Cellular Biology/Translational Biomedical Sciences Faculty Support Fund, Research Fellowship Award and Undergraduate Student Support Fund were created as a result of a $2 million gift commitment from John Kopchick, Goll-Ohio Eminent Scholar and Distinguished Professor of Molecular Biology, and Char Kopchick, assistant dean of students at Ohio University.
In addition, the deans of the Russ College of Engineering and Technology, College of Arts & Sciences, Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine and College of Health Sciences and Professions, as well as the vice president for research and creative activity, are providing a total of $1.9 million in match support.
The John J. Kopchick Awards support undergraduate and graduate students and faculty affiliated with Ohio University’s Molecular and Cellular Biology graduate program and Translational Biomedical Sciences program. Both programs take an interdisciplinary approach to solving complex research questions in the science and medical fields.
In the few years since inception, the John J. Kopchick Awards also have helped 11 graduate student recipients secure research internships at other university, government and industry laboratories.
The 2017 award recipients are:
John J. Kopchick Molecular and Cellular Biology (MCB)/Translational Biomedical Sciences (TBS) Faculty Support Fund
(up to $10,000 for MCB/TBS faculty for research activities and conference travel)
Recipient: Dr. Allan Showalter, Environmental & Plant Biology
Title of Project: “Surface-engineered Nanoparticles for Drug Delivery in Fungal Infections”
Amount: $10,000
John J. Kopchick Molecular and Cellular Biology (MCB)/Translational Biomedical Sciences (TBS) Research Fellowship Award
(up to $10,000 for Ph.D. and DO/Ph.D. students in the MCB or TBS programs to support translational biomedical research, with an additional $5,000 for an off-campus internship)
Recipient: Elizabeth Jensen, Biomedical Sciences, DO/Ph.D. TBS program
Mentor: Darlene Berryman
Title of Project: “Analysis of Gut Function and Microbiota in Bovine Growth Hormone Transgenic Mice as a Model of Gut Dysbiosis and Intestinal Disease”
Amount: $10,000
Recipient: Quyen Luong, Biomedical Sciences, DO/Ph.D. MCB program
Mentor: Kevin Lee
Title of Project: “Determining the Spatial Distribution of Adipocyte Subpopulations”
Amount: $15,000
Recipient: Ashley Patton, Biomedical Sciences, DO/Ph.D. MCB program
Mentor: Kelly McCall
Title of Project: “Interferon Regulatory Factor 3 (IRF3): A potential link between inflammation and lipid metabolism in a model of high fat diet-induced nonalcoholic fatty liver disease”
Amount: $15,000
Recipient: Donnie Pickel, Biological Sciences, MCB program
Mentor: Dr. Nathan Weyand
Title of Project: “The Use of Membrane-Associated Complement Inhibitors by Neisseria gonorrhoeae in Immune Evasion”
Amount: $15,000
Recipient: Christian Showalter, Biological Sciences, MCB program
Mentor: Monica Burdick
Title of Project : “Effects of MicroRNA on Breast Cancer Metastasis through the Bloodstream”
Amount: $14,747
Recipient: Pratik Shriwas, Biological Sciences, MCB program
Mentor: Xiaozhuo Chen
Title of Project: “In vitro and in vivo characterization of novel anticancer therapeutics”
Amount: $9,998
John J. Kopchick Molecular and Cellular Biology (MCB)/Translational Biomedical Sciences (TBS) Undergraduate Student Support Fund
(up to $1,500 for undergraduate students working with MCB/TBS faculty and conducting translational medical research and scholarly activities)
Recipient: Dakota Brockway, Honors Tutorial College—Biological Sciences
Mentor: Yunsheng Li
Title of Project: “Combination of Urolithin A and Radiotherapy on Glioblastoma”
Amount: $1,500
Recipient: Joshua Busken, Exercise Physiology
Mentor: Darlene Berryman
Title of Project: “Describing Gut Microbial Shifts in the Presence of Excess Growth Hormone Action in Bovine Transgenic GH Mice”
Amount: $1,500
Recipient: Emily Caggiano, Honors Tutorial College—Biological Sciences
Mentor: Monica Burdick
Title of Project: “Plasma Treatment to Knock Down Nucleolin Gene and Decrease Cancer Metastasis”
Amount: $1,469
Recipient: Mitchell Harberson, Biological Sciences
Mentor: Kevin Lee
Title of Project: “Deciphering the Role of STAT5 Isoforms in GH Action”
Amount: $1,500
Recipient: Savannah McKenna, Biological Sciences
Mentor: Edward List
Title of Project: “Liver Histopathology of GH-treated Mice”
Amount: $1,500
Recipient: Sydney Pence, Biological Sciences
Mentor: Chunmin Lo
Title of Project: “Hypothalamic Apolipoprotein AIV Stimulates Thermogenesis in Brown Adipose Tissues”
Amount: $1,500
Recipient: Samantha Selhorst, Biological Sciences
Mentor: Corinne Nielsen
Title of Project: “Examining Pericyte Cells in Rbpj-related Brain Arteriovenous Malformation”
Amount: $1,499
More information about the John J. Kopchick Awards is available on the Research Division funding page.
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